But John Lucas drew some parallels between the two point guards on Thursday. If that kind of association continues for Lin with the Rockets, Lucas said the franchise could see another talented floor general join a list that includes Calvin Murphy, Kenny Smith and Lucas.

“I think he’ll do fine,” said Lucas, who helped lead the Rockets to the Eastern Conference finals as a rookie in 1977. “I look forward to watching his development.”

Nash twice was named an All-star during his time with the Dallas Mavericks, but his career took off when he signed with the Phoenix Suns in 2004. Playing in an up-tempo system, Nash led the NBA in assists for three consecutive years. In his first two seasons in Phoenix, he was the league’s MVP.

Lin had struggled to hang on in the NBA, bouncing from Golden State to Houston to New York. He finally got his shot with the Knicks and coach Mike D’Antoni, who coached Nash for four seasons in Phoenix.

In the same system Nash excelled in with the Suns, Lin became a national phenomenon with the Knicks.

He officially joined the Rockets on Tuesday when New York didn’t match the Rockets’ three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet. He returns to Houston seven months after the franchise released him and five months after Lin led the struggling Knicks to a seven-game win streak.

“This is a league where all you need is a chance to play and we embrace you,” Lucas said. “There have been a lot of guys who have been paid a lot of money off one month of good basketball. So I’m not knocking Jeremy Lin. You have to end up in a fit for you, and a lot of people in our league go around forever looking for that fit.”

Good fit

Lin said the Rockets are a team that fits his style.

“The way Kevin (McHale) has the offense is what I like to do,” Lin said. “Spread the floor, drive or pass, get the ball to the man with the shot.”

Lucas, who spent five of his 14 years in the NBA with the Rockets, learned that early.

“My coach showed me my role right away,” Lucas said. “I shot 10 shots with Murph. He made 10 in a row, and I made like five.

“I shot with Rudy T (Tomjanovich). He made eight or nine, and I made four. And Coach said, ‘You getting to see your role on the team? Your role is to get them the ball.’ ”

The Rockets went 49-33 in winning the Central Division before eventually falling in the conference finals to Philadelphia during Lucas’ rookie year, in which he averaged 5.6 assists per game on a team that featured sharpshooters Murphy, Tomjanovich and Mike Newlin.

Murphy spent his entire career with the Rockets and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993. Smith was the starting point guard on both Rockets championship teams. Steve Francis was a three-time All-Star, and Aaron Brooks led Houston to its first playoff series win in 12 years (2009).

Work in progress

And now it is Lin’s turn to make a name for himself at point guard.

“With the team that the Rockets are trying to assemble, I think that he’ll fit in nicely,” Lucas said of Lin. “He has to get his turnovers down, but I’ll think he’ll be fine. Now, one of the things people miss is he’s still under construction. He’s not by any means a finished product yet.”

It was a point that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey emphasized at Lin’s introduction on Thursday.

“He can only get better,” Morey said. “A lot of great point guards have a lot of turnovers. Who led the league in turnovers last season? Steve Nash. (Lin) doesn’t have to play at the level he did in February every night to make us a better team.”